This famous poem by the great Dutch poet M.Nijhoff (1894–1953) has been three times translated into Russian: in 1999 by D. Zaks, in 2003 by I.Mihaylova and A.Purin, in 2007 by M. Palеy. The first two translations follow the original metrics while the third translation changes it drastically (five feet in translation vs. three feet in original) and makes the poem much more explicit emotional and baroque. All three translations make the rhythm more facile and moderate the negative feeling at the beginning of the poem.
Michajlova Irina. ABOUT THREE RUSSIAN TRANSLATIONS OF MATINUS NIJHOFF’S POEM “THE CHILD AND ME”